Joanne Shaw Taylor: interviewed by Stacy Jeffress for American Blues Scene

Joanne Shaw Taylor (Photo courtesy of Marilyn Stringer)
Stacy Jeffress for American Blues Scene: Tell me about growing up in England and learning about the blues.
Joanne Shaw Taylor: My dad was a guitar player. Before I was born, that’s what he did. He played acoustic and harmonica and was very much into Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee, more country-style blues. When my brother and I came along, he got a real job, then when I was young, he got re-interested in it. My brother played; he was Mr. Shred Metal. My dad played Gary Moore, classic rock. I wanted to play electric guitar; I’d been playing classical at school and for the Birmingham youth ensemble. I started going through Dad’s CD collection. At the time, he’d just discovered Stevie Ray Vaughan; that was the impetus for me to go down the blues route.

When did you discover this marvelous voice you have?
That was a longer process. I started singing when I was 15, ‘cause I wanted to have more control over the set list. It’s a big thing to have to sing. There are still some videos of me on YouTube when I was 20, and it’s still not the voice I have now. It’s a lot more English and very soft. That was a work in process; going out and hitting the road. It was more of a confidence issue. I never doubted that I could play guitar, ‘cause that’s what my family did. Some people go hunting and fishing; we play guitar. The singing took a few more years to figure out.
Read the full interview with American Blues Scene http://www.americanbluesscene.com/2013/10/on-the-back-porch-with-joanne-shaw-taylor/

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